That pretty much is what this thing boils down to. HL Gates comes home from a 20 hour flight from China and Sgt. Cowley exhibits the trademark chip-on-the-shoulder that every cop has from years of dealing with wise asses and much, much worse, a chip that most of us learn about when we’re teenagers.
A tired Gates comes home after probably standing in 20 lines and stuffed in a plane from China, only to find he can’t open his door and he forces it open. Minutes later he’s (no doubt) startled by a cop about someone breaking into his house. So a grumpy and tired Gates barks out something about being a black man in America.
Sgt Cowley (I would guess) gives a silent sigh and says to himself, “Another load mouth, I’m just downing my job, someone called, let me do my job and get out of here”. But Gates is cranky from lack lot of sleep over the last few days and turns up the volume by getting on the phone asking who Crowley’s boss is, that you don’t mess with him.
I don’t need to put up with this crap, Crowley by now must feel…and he said something about my mama. We need to take this outside on the porch and if this guy continues, he’ll find out who he is messing with.
And sure enough, Gates is letting all the negative energy from the last 24 hours of traveling and keeps it up. And now Crowley has his peers and some civilians watching as Gates (loudly) calls him a racist and a few other choice words. And for Crowley, he has the letter of the law on his side because the charge of being disorderly is easy…scream across the street at someone and you are being disorderly. Crowley was being disrespected and cops don’t like being disrespected, so on go the cuffs.
I’m sure, seven days later; many of us are scratching our heads wondering how this whole thing made it up the President of the United States and was worthy to be part of a nationally televised press conference. But it was…two guys were having crappy days and it turns into a media shit storm that just won’t die. (And I predict the “stupidly” comment will be beaten to death by the rightwing blogs for months and months.)
Folks can analyze the racist angle all they want, but the evolution of this event into the media storm it is, is equally interesting
It’s really too bad it went this far.
and the other is a weary traveller arriving home.
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p>I’m sorry, but while I agree in some respects that two people had bad days, only one was at work.
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p>And the taxpayers pay his salary. And he’s trained to be patient and thoughtful and sensitive to the effects of his presence in a situation.
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p>He flunked.
I think blacks and whites “want” to get along and work together… I think we have come a long way especially here in MA but I think these instances like Gates or the New HAven Firefighters and true cases of racial discrimination drag us all back. We need a color blind society that can simply see things which are right or wrong.
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p>So many people like me see this issue as Gates simply being an asshole (for whatever reason… fatigue… fame… his chip…) and completely separated from any racial aspect. I would want Gates arrested for his behavior whether we he black, asian, white or anything else.
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p>If we want to argue about this issue from the standpoint of what behavior is acceptable for people and what level of shit a cop has to take before he arrests you then fine, let’s leave race out of this.
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p>This is absurd. Gates is not responsible, from his living room or his porch, for the “movement for equality.” A single individual’s behavior should not and does not reflect an entire group of people with dark skin. This is the sort of over-the-top rhetoric that renders meaningful conversations about race in America nearly impossible.
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p>What?? You just got through blaming Gates for single-handedly harming the “movement for equality.” How is that possible if, in the next breath, you claim that you think “blacks and whites want to get along and work together”? You can’t have a color blind society when you are willing to single out one black man and saddle him with responsibilities that are not his.
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p>I’m sure you are exactly the sort of person who won’t brook any perceived disrespect for persons in authority. That doesn’t surprise me at all, and, indeed, you have plenty of company in that respect. But let’s not feed the hyperbole here that demonizes (asshole??? how is that productive?) one or both of these individuals. The fact remains one was at work and one wasn’t; one had a professional responsibility to maintain his composure while carrying out his duties and the other did not.
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p>Doubtless you would like to subtract the racial element from this equation, but that’s not possible. It’s the perception of racism that ignited the entire incident. And, by the way, police don’t get to arrest you because they don’t like your attitude; that’s exactly the sort of inappropriate application of authority that creates unnecessary distrust beween law enforcement and the citizenry.
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p>Police are trained to remain calm when the person they are dealing with is not. That is their professional responsibility. If they cannot maintain a professional clinical distance, they are not suited for policework.
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p>I surely can point Gates (and others on both sides) as impediments to the large masses within the US who do want to “get along”. I didn’t say that he “singularly” is responsible which is why I said these “instances”. Things are right or wrong regardless of he color of the person. Police abuses, regardless of the color of the police officer’s skin is wrong and should be punished. Racists like Robert Byrd (former KKK member and David Dukes) should be held responsible for contributing to racial problems. All people who contribute to racial problems should be deemed part of the problem and Gates is one of them.
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p>You are right. I respect the authority of the badge as well as man other people. I can’t stand Obama and never have but I still respect the office of the POTUS. I would not want to live in a country which doesn’t respect law and order.
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p>Why is it hyperbole? I think Gates’ action were appropriately labeled “asshole” by me. You sound like a person who disrespects authority which doesn’t surprise me, and you are not alone. I will continue to feel the whole thing would have been avoided if Gates didn’t act like an asshole.
Your attitude seems to do as much as anything to exaserbate these matters, complete with your typical rightwing aspersions on Robert Byrd who WAS a KKK member MORE THAN 60 YEARS AGO. While you’re at it, stop the namecalling!
I believe it is common practice on this blog to call public figures (like Dicj Chaney and George Bush…) names, correct? However, I try not to call bloggers like yourself names. If I called someone I name then it was in error.
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p>I do reserve the right to call public figures names like many others here do regularly.
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p>What exactly am I taking responsibility for?
Maybe you’re thinking of Salon. You’re awfully generous with your appelation of a**hole and language like that is a surefire way to get a downrate from me. As for taking responsiblity, you made reference to racial problems, which your attitudes, even going to the extreme, it seems, of supporting racial profiling hardly help.
such as President Bush and Gov Romney names?
I’m talking about really foul profane names that I won’t even repeat – things like “idiot” and “jerk” don’t count. I’ll say up front that I don’t support calling these people the unprintable names you’ve used either.
Both of these guys should just shut up and let the fools in the media try to focus on some real substantive issues.
Gates appears to be trying to milk this a bit.
Gates seems pretty quiet of late; most of the blabbing in the past 48 hours has been coming from the Crowley/CPD camp.
I guess it depends on what you want to see. I have seen both of them making the rounds….and now Gate’s daughter has made a statement on CBS.
Those pesky rightwingers just won’t let up
I thought people might be interested in this article.
An exellent essay on the “Ivy League Effect.”